Microsoft is rolling out a fix for Microsoft Office 365 users who were seeing random ‘Product deactivated’ error messages.
Several users revealed on online platforms that they were getting warnings about a “deactivated product” in Office 365 apps. Microsoft acknowledged the bug and informed that the errors are caused by license changes made by administrators. Earlier this month, another bug took Office 365 Web applications offline.
Quickly resolved
The problem occurs when switching subscriptions from Office 365 E3 to Microsoft 365 E3 or when users are moved between license groups, such as Azure Active Directory or synchronized on-premises security groups. Also when license or service plan settings are changed, users are removed and re-added to license groups, or the “Newest version of desktop apps” service plan is enabled or disabled by subscribers.
Microsoft has since rolled out a security patch to fix the bug, BleepingComputer writes. For customers who have not yet received the fix, Microsoft suggests clicking the “Reactivate” button in the error banner and signing in again. Another solution is to sign out of all apps, restart them and then sign in again. If the message continues to appear, users can ask their administrators to check the Microsoft 365 subscription management portal and see if their subscription has expired.